NJIT alumni and students are helping to shape the New Jersey Greenway, a planned nine-mile corridor that will convert an abandoned Norfolk Southern rail line into a linear state park stretching from Montclair to Jersey City. AECOM Tishman is the construction manager for the first phase of the project: a nearly mile-long stretch in Newark.

Michael Kasian ’85, the company’s executive vice president, and Rosana Caputo ’99, a senior project manager in charge of the Newark stretch, reached out to Marjorie A. Perry ’05, president and CEO of MZM Construction & Management Company, for help in staffing. Gira Abdou ’26, a civil engineering major, and Denilson Olivera ‘23, a mechanical engineering graduate, made the cut.

An illustration of a green area with a building to the left and people sitting outside and some people on bikes

The NJIT hires are involved in field coordination with the owner and design team and assist in the administration of shop drawings, submittal tracking, specification and drawing reviews, trade communications and reporting.

Expected to open in the spring of 2027, the trail from Branch Brook Park to Broadway in Newark will feature native plantings, lighting, playground and fitness areas, and bike and walking paths. The Newark Central Activity Center, one of three planned community spaces, will provide a performance stage with an expansive lawn, multi-sport courts and other amenities.

“This isn’t a project in some far-off place,” Perry said. “It’s happening here — in Newark, in NJIT’s backyard. These students can literally see the impact of what they’re building.”

Topic: